By Cornelius Harding, Anglican Ink.
Your Grace,
I am writing to you as the Primate of an Anglican Communion Province or National Church whose church serves a nation which is a member of the Commonwealth. The following is an appeal to all Primates of Commonwealth Nations.
I am appealing to you to give your counsel to His Majesty King Charles III, the head of the Commonwealth, at this time of great trial for him. At his Coronation Charles made various oaths about what sort of a ruler he would be. He committed himself to “maintain the Laws of God” and to exercise his power to uphold “Law and Justice, in Mercy”. At this time, he is facing a great trial and will need your prayers and guidance.
As Anglicans as we gather on a Sunday around Christ whom we receive in Word and Sacrament we are reminded of the foundational elements of God’s Law, the ten commandments. Cranmer in his great wisdom crafted a liturgy in which the minister reads God’s Law “Thou shalt do no murder” to which the people respond in prayer “Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law”. You may or may not be aware that in the last week the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom has passed two pieces of legislation which are an afront to the sanctity of life. Firstly, via an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill parliament voted to remove criminal sanction from mothers who opt to murder the infants they carry after the legal limit on abortion and when the child is viable outside the womb. Secondly, via passing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Members of Parliament have introduced a legal framework under which patients will be offered government funded assistance in ending their life by the very medical professionals who are meant to work to help them live. This second bill has been wrongly categorised as only available to the terminally ill, but this is not the case as it includes multiple illnesses which are not terminal for example those with eating disorders such as anorexia will also be offered assistance in ending their lives. Both of these Bills are an affront to the sanctity of life and involve the state either passively or actively in the taking of life; these bills are licenses to murder. I therefore appeal to you as Primates to give your counsel to His Majesty King Charles III to the effect that he must uphold his coronation vows and oath.
As king His Majesty holds the royal prerogative which means he must give royal assent before a law can come into effect, and he holds the power to prorogue parliament which would mean all legislation currently in process falls and a general election is held.